Persistence Pays: Realising the American dream I think it’s a safe bet to assume all graduates of horticulture contemplate travelling abroad with their newly acquired skills and knowledge. Those that do rarely regret it. Whether they remain abroad or return home the exposure to different cultures, work practices and techniques always stands. A question I [...]
Ireland’s founding nursery businesses were family run affairs. And while this remains the case for the majority, subsequent generations have been slow to pick up where parents left off. The result being closure and sale. “Who can blame them?’”, I hear you ask. Running a nursery is a tough, demanding job, with little thanks and [...]
Drive Through Ambitions The thing about all great ideas is that once realised they seem obvious. We've all experienced that feeling of, why didnt I think of that? But having great ideas and realising them are very different things. The former often happens in a flash, a light bulb moment, the latter requires commitment, perseverance, [...]
Inside Story There has been a wealth of recent research demonstrating the benefits of plants in the work environment. Reduced stress levels, increased oxygen, temperature regulation and ambient noise reduction are just a few of the generally accepted benefits. Plants have also been shown to improve worker productivity, sense of wellbeing and psychological comfort, and [...]
Sod Cast Generally speaking, most industry folks agree that gardening coverage on TV and radio in Ireland is pretty poor and this has a negative impact on the market for goods and services. Ask those within media circles why it is so, and it all comes back to the same factors: production costs, scale of [...]
A Long Story Living Flavours was one of Irish horticulture’s success stories. The product of hard work, determination, innovation and nerve, its rise from an initial idea to a top national brand embodied everything we wish to foster in our industry. A family concern with plants running through its blood, successive generations evolving, developing, growing, [...]
This interview was previously published in Horticulture Connected . The photo is credited to industry photographer Koraley Northen Back To the Future It was 2007 when I first had the opportunity to interview Philip Moraeu. Ireland was in the height of madness, and only the canny and the cute were making provision for what we now recognise [...]
Top ten reasons to get out into the garden this autumn 1. Air quality…breathe easy this winter Have you got the heating on? Windows closed? First signs of a sniffle or a cough? No wonder. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that the air within homes can be more seriously polluted than the [...]
There are many mistakes people make when going about the business of designing or having their garden designed. Here's a small collection to help you avoid the pitfalls. 10. Employing a horticulturist to do a designers job. This is the classic mistake but somewhat understandable in Ireland, where there is much confusion about what a garden designer [...]
Bloom in the Park starts today and is the biggest event in Ireland's garden and food calendar. It's the best value family experience in the country and shouldn't be missed. Don't forget, kids go free. Below are my top ten ways you can maximize your Bloom experience... [divider style="solid"] 1. Love it when a plan [...]
